Americans express their views on the bible and second coming of Jesus Show Notes

The American Bible Society has released its 2013 Annual “State of the Bible” Report. They found that 88% of Americans have a personal Bible at home, which is an average of about 4 per household.

Last year, 1 in 6 Americans bought a new Bible. However, compared to 2011, there are 6 million more Americans who are “antagonistic’ to the Bible and its teachings.

By the way, the survey included some discouraging news about young adults and the bible. In the 18-28 age group, 57% report reading the Bible less than three times a year or never. That’s discouraging news, and it serves as a challenge to all of us to reach out to the teens, college students, and young adults in our sphere of influence.

In another faith-related story, for centuries, Christians have proclaimed that Jesus died, Jesus rose from the dead and Jesus will come again.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian magazine suggests that future hope remains strong.

A majority of American Protestants and about one-third of Catholics told the pollsters they believed Jesus would definitely or probably return by the year 2050.

Pew senior researcher Greg Smith says that belief was strongest among people with a high school education or less. That might be seen as a slight to those who have less education, but given the fact that the majority of American universities aren’t particularly friendly to Christianity, should we be surprised?

By the way, about one-eighth of Americans said they didn't know if Jesus would return by the year 2050 …placing them in agreement with our Lord’s own words that no one knows the day or the hour when he'll return, except God the Father.